Several vehicle manufacturers have added or have proposed seat belt restraint systems for adult size occupants, with inflatable shoulder harness belts or inflatable lap belts or a combination of belts. One such inflatable belt system is disclosed in WO2009/155534A1 an “Inflatable Seat Belt System” the contents of which are incorporated herein in their entirety. In that seat belt system, the buckle includes a flow-through passage, and the tongue includes a complementary flow-through passage, the flow-through passage in the tongue is connected to an inflatable air bag that is located in the shoulder belt portion of the system. Upon insertion of the tongue into the buckle, the passages are aligned. Upon activation of an air bag inflator, inflation gases pass through the buckle into the tongue, then into the inflatable belt. Other systems also provide a flow-through passage formed adjacent the lock plate of the tongue and shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,591,465 which is incorporated herein in its entirety.
In regard to a child seat a similar inflatable belt configuration with a dedicated inflator can also be used. However, if the child seat is a removable one, the inflator, as well as other components which are part of the child seat, could be subject to misuse when the child seat is removed and stored outside of the vehicle. Separately, when child or toddler seats are employed to hold a child, the child seat restraint manufacturers recommend disabling the inflatable seat belt system designed to protect the adult. As a result, the child seat does not have the benefits of an in-vehicle inflatable seat belt system.
The present invention provides a solution to this problem and provides an inflatable seat belt harness which is a part of the child seat that can be directly connected to an existing buckle of an in-vehicle restraint system to safely allow inflation of a child seat harness integral to a child restraint seat without the need of requiring the inflator to be part of the child seat.